Pump prices are now 50 cents lower than a year ago and have plummeted more than 80 cents a gallon since the start of August. The previous 2006 low for gasoline was set the first week of January, when pump prices averaged $2.238

Gasoline can be found for less than $2 a gallon in many parts of the country. Tom Kloza, an analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J., said Missouri is on course to become the first state with average prices below $2.

But in a sign of how widely prices can vary, the average cost of gasoline in Hawaii is still more than $3 a gallon, Kloza said.

Gasoline prices were most expensive last week on the West Coast, averaging $2.51 a gallon, and cheapest in the Gulf Coast region, averaging $2.11, according to the EIA.

The price of oil is down roughly 25% since a summertime peak above $78 a barrel, settling Monday at $59.95. OPEC is planning to meet later this week to discuss cutting output to stabilize prices.

Average retail gasoline prices peaked at an average $3.07 a gallon in September 2005, reflecting the extreme tightness in the market following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which knocked out refineries in the Gulf region as well as pipelines that deliver fuel to the East Coast and Midwest.

They remained high all year amid soaring crude-oil prices, tight refining capacity and fears that there would be another extreme hurricane season this summer.

But as the outlook for economic growth began to look shaky, supplies grew and hurricane fears never materialized, a massive sell-off in gasoline futures began, sending oil futures lower as well.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.